Citizens Discuss Postponing City Council Vote on Riot Gear

Citizens concerned about riot gear for the Duluth Police Department came out to the Duluth City Council meeting Monday to discuss the upcoming public open house meetings about the gear.

Advertisement – Content Continues Below

The Citizen Review Board is hosting three public open house events for community members, but the review board and citizens are concerned about the short time frame in gathering the information and input from those meetings to present to the city council.

A constituent said that the Citizen Review Board had sent a letter to city council asking them to postpone the Oct. 22 meeting, where it was expected a vote would be made on the riot gear.

Citizens concerned about riot gear for the Duluth Police Department came out to the Duluth City Council meeting Monday to discuss the upcoming public open house meetings about the gear.

WDIO

The constituent said cramming the meetings, while also looking into research on police use of force and riot gear, and also gathering the public’s input, would be difficult to do on such a short time period. That's why they want the meeting to be postponed.

"Everybody has a lot to say about the resolution and I think we want to make sure we gather that input as well as we can and also make sure it’s a safe space,” Keith Hamre, a director for the City of Duluth Planning & Construction Services, said.

The city councilors expressed they never received the letter but that they will make sure they review it and consider the decision to postpone.

Another constituent said there should be clarification regarding the press release about the open houses, saying it was misleading and doesn't’ clearly explain the purpose of the events and who organized them.